


remember when you and I would make things up

by IMightwing



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU, Nightwing (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics)
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-03
Updated: 2017-10-03
Packaged: 2019-01-08 12:52:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12254769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IMightwing/pseuds/IMightwing
Summary: “Jason?” The kid looked up at him.He’d know those blue eyes anywhere. Dick Grayson was no longer a twenty-five-year-old hero. Instead, he was a scared little boy.A de-aged Dick can't sleep, so Jason tells him a story. Written for Day One of JayDick Week 2017.





	remember when you and I would make things up

“Dick!” Jason yelled, frantically looking at the cloud of smoke where his boyfriend had just run. He coughed at the acrid burning creeping into his lungs, and rushed into the smoke, desperate to find Dick. 

The smoke finally cleared enough to see a small figure. A kid. Terrified as he was for Dick, Jason rushed towards the small figure. How the fuck did they even get out here?

“Hey, it’s okay. You’re okay.” He reached out a hand to comfort them. 

“Jason?” The kid looked up at him. 

He’d know those blue eyes anywhere. Dick Grayson was no longer a twenty-five-year-old hero. Instead, he was a scared little boy.

*

Jason scrubbed a hand over his face, trying to get the headache that had been steadily building all evening to go away. He should ask Alfred for some ibuprofen or something, anything to get it to go away. 

“I’ve put in calls to Zatanna and Constantine.” Bruce strode back into the Cave. “The consensus seems to be that until we know what turned him in the first place, changing him back won’t be easy. Worst case, it could do more damage.”

Jason sighed. “I figured. It was worth a try, at least.”

“We’ll figure this out.” Bruce sounded determined. It made sense, Jason supposed. They all knew Bruce would go to hell and back to help Dick Grayson. They all would.

Bruce looked over to where Dick had fallen asleep in the computer chair, Batman’s cape pulled tight around him like a security blanket. “He should go upstairs. You should, too. Get some rest.” Bruce rested a hand on Jason’s shoulder. “We _will_ figure this out, Jason.”

Jason nodded, not wanting to trust his voice. He carefully pulled the cape from Dick’s hands and gathered him up in his arms. 

“JayJay?” Dick asked, still half asleep, his arms tightening around Jason’s neck. 

“Hey, Dickiebird. It’s okay, I’ve got you. You’re alright.” They weren’t sure exactly what all Dick remembered. He knew who they all were, which was lucky. A scared kid with no idea who he was with would only have made the situation worse. 

He carried Dick to the elevator and through the hallways of the Manor. He debated for a minute which room to put him in, but figured his old room would probably have the most familiarity in it, if Dick woke up afraid. 

Jason maneuvered the blankets back with one hand as he set Dick down. As he was tucking him in, a small hand tugged on his sleeve. 

“Will you stay with me?” Dick asked, his eyes worried.

“Of course I will, Dickie.” Jason slipped off his boots and swung his legs up onto the bed. He held out an arm, and Dick immediately curled into his chest. 

“Tell me a story, JayJay,” Dick sleepily demanded. 

“Um, alright.” Despite his love of reading, Jason never really considered himself much of a storyteller. Besides, his tastes tended more towards the classics, most of which wouldn’t exactly appeal to his current audience. “Once...there was a little bird. His name was…” Jason thought quickly. “Redbird.” 

“Redbird...was a sad, angry little bird. Until one day, he got taken in. By a Bat.” Jason wasn’t entirely sure why he was suddenly telling the de-aged version of his boyfriend all about his shitty childhood, but that’s the way things were happening currently. He probably was too tired to remember anyway. Or maybe he wouldn’t remember anything from his time as a child if he… Jason stopped that train of thought. When. _When_ he changed back. 

“The Bat took him in and gave him a home. But even better, he gave him a purpose. An outlet. He was able to take his anger at the world and turn it into something good.”

Dick shifted in his embrace. Jason could tell he was trying to stay awake to listen to the story, but sleep was starting to pull him under. 

“The Bat also gave Redbird something he’d always wanted: a family. There was…” He paused to think again. “A cat, who was the Bat’s butler. And...a Bluebird. They cared about Redbird. But Redbird was a very silly bird. He didn’t see how lucky he was, how good the family he had right in front of him was.”

“Wha’happened?” Dick asked, sleepily looking up at Jason. 

“He. Uh, he got lost.” Jason said. Somehow, it was easier to talk about these things when Dick was a child. There were certain topics that had always been taboo between them, and much of Jason’s life was one of those topics. 

“Why?” Dick sounded worried. 

“Because he ran away. He thought he needed more than what he had.” Jason looked down and brushed the hair away from Dick’s forehead. “He was wrong.”

“Did he get found?” Dick asked.

“He did. He wasn’t very nice to his family, though, when they found him again.”

“They’re his family. They love him anyway.” Dick nodded, with the innocent conviction only a little kid could have.

“Sometimes, Redbird doesn’t think he deserves them.” Jason said quietly.

“I like Redbird.” Dick set his head back down and yawned. “Wanna play with him.”

“Get some sleep, Dickiebird. You can play in the morning.”

Dick was asleep within minutes. Jason followed him not long after, grateful for the warmth by his side, even if it was considerably smaller than he was used to.

*

Jason woke up to the feel of hands smoothing over his back. “Dick?” he murmured, sleepily.

“Morning, Jay.”

Jason opened his eyes. In front of him was a fully-grown Dick Grayson. “You’re back.”

“Technically, I never left.” Dick grinned. “But I’m me again.” Dick flopped down and tangled his legs with Jason’s as he curled into his chest. 

Jason wrapped his arms around Dick and breathed deeply. “I’m glad.”

They lay in silence for several long minutes. They often did in the mornings. Dick wasn’t a morning person. Though Jason usually woke up first, leaving a bed with a warm, cuddly, pliant Dick was one of the last things he wanted to do. 

Dick was the one to finally break the silence. “You do deserve us, you know.”

“What?” Jason asked, unsure of what Dick was referencing. 

“Redbird,” Dick said gently. “From your story. I know it was about you, Jay.”

“Oh.” Now Jason remembered. “It was just a story, Dick.”

Dick gave him a look like he wanted to argue, but settled back down on Jason’s chest. “I’m glad Redbird got found. Because Bluebird loves him very much.”

Dick hadn’t said those words before. Jason’s throat felt tight. It took him a moment before he felt like he could reply. “Redbird was glad to be found. Even if he didn’t show it well at first. But he loves Bluebird too.”

Dick gave him a brilliant smile and leaned in for a kiss. “We should probably tell Bruce I’m okay so he can stop worrying.”

Jason tightened his arms around Dick and rolled so they were both lying on their side. “In a bit. I want a few more minutes with you.”

Dick smiled again. “As long as you want, Jay. We’ve got all the time in the world.”

And lying in bed with Dick pressed against him, it was easy to believe that was true.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Leave a comment/kudos if you enjoyed. You can find me on tumblr at graysonning.


End file.
